Case Number 03698: Small Claims Court

Darling

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All Rise...

The Charge

Happiness is the one thing that may elude her forever.

The Case

Model Diana Scott (Julie Christie) is searching for happiness in all the
wrong places. Unsatisfied with her career, she ventures into an affair with
Robert (Dirk Bogarde), a TV critic. They seem to have a dream life, but Diana
decides to add some spice by entering a tryst with her boss Miles (Laurence
Harvey). Robert discovers her deception and ends their affair. However, life
with Miles isn't much better so she continues searching, eventually entering a
marriage with an Italian prince. But Robert always remains on her mind and
heart. Does he feel the same?

To be honest, Darling is not easy to like. The first hour moves at a
snail's pace and some viewers will have turned it off by then. Things move much
faster in the second half, and some nicely pointed satire makes it more
enjoyable. The ending is unsatisfying and will have you wondering what the
filmmakers were smoking when they conceived it.

Despite those criticisms, I think Darling is very much worth seeing.
The first hour is slow, but the deliberate pace helps establish the banality
that Diana thinks exists in her life. The key word is "thinks," since
the film blurs the line between reality and fantasy and the events may all be in
her mind. Or not. That's the beauty of this film.

It is a daring film for the time, featuring nudity and in-your-face
sexuality practically unseen in a major motion picture in 1965. But it is also
daring for its content; the very idea of a young woman going from one affair to
another must have made many people upset then and it remains potent and timely
today.

The film's second half is something different entirely. It aims for satire
more often, particularly in an amusing chocolate commercial toward the final
third. Also, a shoplifting sequence also provides some laughter. It's very
uncomfortable laughter, but laughter none the same. The laughs distract us from
the more serious issues for a reason: so that when they do come, the effect will
be more resonant.

The film was directed by John Schlesinger, who had made a specialty of
offbeat, heartfelt character studies. Some, like Sunday Bloody Sunday, lose
themselves in the heavy-handedness. But his direction of Darling never
falters, even when dealing with some bizarre stylish set pieces within his human
drama. Working from a screenplay by Frederic Raphael, he has to shift between
serious and satirical tones, sometimes in the same scene. He also gets great
performances from his cast.

Julie Christie won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1965 for
Darling. The award caused some controversy since the favorite had been
Julie Andrews for The Sound of
Music. Looking at the film 38 years later, I think the Academy made the
right decision. Andrews may have the showier role, but Christie's understated,
natural performance is the far superior of the two. Her performance hits all the
right notes and feels real from start to finish. We may not approve of what
Diana does, but we can certainly understand how and why she does what she does.
This role in the hands of the wrong actress could have been a disaster, with
overacting and hamminess thrown in equal measures. By restraining herself to the
point of appearing nonchalant and laidback, Christie gives a great deal more
insight into her character.

This was the second collaboration between Schlesinger and Christie. The
first, Billy Liar (1963), is
very much like Darling in execution and tone. The third and best, Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), is
another romantic triangle and search for something elusive wrapped up as a
beautiful widescreen epic. Try watching all three back to back and make your own
comparisons.

MGM continues their hard stance against giving anamorphic enhancement to any
feature with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The widescreen image looks decent for a
film made in 1965 and on a low budget. Grain is present in all scenes and you
will see some film artifacts such as an occasional reel mark and scratch. But
overall, it looks superior to the many VHS copies that have surfaced over the
past twenty years and just to own the film in widescreen makes me very
happy.

A Dolby Digital 2.0 mono mix is included. The film isn't heavily scored and
is rather dialogue heavy. A stereo mix would have made the dialogue a lot easier
to sort through. As is, you may have to adjust your speakers accordingly if you
have trouble listening to some dialogue but have no problems with other
passages. A mixed bag, that much is for sure.

A theatrical trailer in 1.66:1 non-anamorphic widescreen is rather
misleading, painting Darling as a comic romp, which it most certainly is
not. A featurette would have been nice since the film has sparked much debate in
critical circles and a few participants are still among us today.

Darling is at least worth a rental. It is a difficult film to digest
and for some, one viewing will be more than enough. But for fans of British
cinema and viewers who appreciate insightful, intelligent filmmaking will want
to own it.